


Where I Should Be

by cuppalou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Girl Direction, I have nothing else to say literally no one wanted this and yet here it is, M/M, also I had all the coding for italics in this done, and I don't want to fix it rn, and have a healthy relationship yay!, but then my wifi decided to be a bitch, harry and louis are an adorably cuddly cute couple, so if you're reading this and there's no italics that's why, the twist is that it's also lowkey canon, where it's basically girl! direction with a twist, woman! au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 01:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuppalou/pseuds/cuppalou
Summary: Harry has an affinity for romcoms and a hard time controlling her jealousy when it comes to Louis. A fitful night of sleep on the couch and a group of young boys who look a lot like her best friends just may be the solution to all her problems.





	Where I Should Be

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Okay, so I had no idea where I was going with this fic from start to finish. I had a vague idea of what I wanted it to be but I sort of just let it blossom on its own. I'm known to be a notorious over-planner, so this was a brand new experience for me. That being said, this is also the only fic that I've ever been satisfied with the ending so hopefully that means something. I'd like to give a big thanks to Trista, Aura, Sonja, and Elsie for reading through this mess. You're all the real MVP's. I'd also like to thank the mods for being so kind and helpful. That being said all spelling, grammar, and plot issues belong to me. This was not well thought through but I hope you enjoy it regardless. I think at the very least it does capture the essence of Woman well.

Harry likes to think that after four years of being in a committed relationship with someone she would be over the ‘jealous phase’. She thinks that it would only make sense that after a certain period of time she would realize that her relationship is not in danger and that no one is going to steal Louis from her. Clearly, this is not the case. Today is a prime example of that and Harry thinks that Louis may be at her breaking point. 

“Harry Edward Styles!” Louis storms into the kitchen as soon as they enter their apartment. 

“... yes?” Harry scrunches up her face. She knows she overreacted today but Louis seems more irritable than usual. Maybe Harry really did go too far but the guy at McDonald’s gave her this look and Harry is just a tad bit possessive. Just a little. 

“What in the hell was that???” Louis peaks her head around the fridge which she is currently digging through to find something and raises her eyebrows in a way that is meant to indicate she’s not incredibly happy right now. 

“I… He… I mean…” Harry manages to stutter out. 

“How long have you known me exactly?” Louis doesn’t even bother to make eye contact this time and her voice gets muffled by the doors of a cabinet she just opened. 

“Five years two months and…. thirteen days.” Harry smiles because if this was a pop quiz she would have aced it. 

“Why the fuck… Never mind I don’t want to know you weirdo. How long have we been together?” Harry goes to open her mouth but Louis interrupts her. “And before you answer that I want a general time frame not specific down to this very second answer.” Louis huffs like having this conversation is a lot of work. It probably is. 

“Four years.” Harry keeps it general because apparently, Louis doesn’t care to know how long it’s actually been. 

“Four years! And the fact that I am gay, as in I like girls and only girls, as in I’m a lesbian, and the fact that I’ve had the same girlfriend for four years, who I LOVE, has somehow been lost on you.” Louis is now preparing something on the stove… probably hot chocolate since it’s so cold out today. 

“I love you too. And of course I know that Louis.” Harry frowns. Does Louis really think that Harry wouldn’t pay attention to something important like that? Harry pays attention to everything about Louis, of course she knows that. 

“You… humph… Then can you tell me exactly why you needed to tell the teenage boy at the McDonald’s drive through to and I quote ‘suck your own dick.’” Louis finally comes out of the kitchen and into the living room. Harry is still standing in the entry doorway so Louis gestures for her to sit down next to her. 

“He was looking at you.” Harry shrugs her shoulders and pouts.

“He… Harry, he was handing us the food that we ordered for Dory and Ernie. It was literally two happy meals and you could see the children in the back of our car. He probably assumed we were married with kids.” Harry never really thought about it that way. She just knows how pretty Louis is and that anyone would be lucky to have her. 

“I didn’t think about it like that.” Louis sighs then rests her head on Harry’s shoulder. 

“I just…” Louis looks up so that she can stare directly into Harry’s eyes. “I don’t understand why you’re so afraid you’ll lose me.” 

“I’m not.” Louis tilts her head to the side.

“Harry, the second he said ‘that’ll be £6.03’ you glared at him and as soon as he handed us our food and said ‘have a good day’ you said ‘this is my girlfriend go suck your own dick.’” Louis looks unimpressed but she doesn’t seem mad anymore. 

“I’m not scared I’m going to lose you I just don’t want other people to think we’re not together because we’re two girls.” Harry looks down. She feels a bit ashamed over her behavior but there’s no going back now. Louis tips Harry’s chin down and kisses her soft and slow.

“We don’t need other people’s validation to be together, darling.” 

“I know I just hate it.” There’s a low whistle in the background and Harry thinks she was right. Louis stands up to go finish what she started and Harry continues to sit on the couch and think about what happened today. 

“Louis?” 

“Yes, love?” 

“I’m sorry I made you upset.” Louis walks back into the room with two steaming cups that make the air smell sweet and warm. 

“I know, could you just think through your actions before you do them next time?” She sits down again and sets the mugs on the coffee table in front of them. Harry knows she’s ridiculous but she still doesn’t truly get why being jealous is such a bad thing. Louis used to love when Harry got jealous. She would purposefully flirt with people just to invoke this exact reaction. Harry doesn’t remember when or why that changed. Maybe Louis just forgot how fun their little games used to be and she needs to be reminded. Maybe Harry needs to up her game. 

“I’ll try.” She says but now she’s wondering if that’s what Louis really wants. Louis seems genuine but the contrast in reaction makes Harry second guess herself. 

“That’s all I ask. Now, do you want to watch something?” Louis snuggles in closer. She seems content with Harry’s answer. 

“Should we just search romantic comedies on Netflix and then see what we find?” Harry questions. Louis hums in agreement. Louis isn’t a huge fan of romcoms but she’ll indulge Harry every once in a while. 

They lay on the couch happy to be wrapped in each other’s arms and sip their hot chocolate while a movie plays in the background. Louis tangles her fingers in Harry’s hair as she combs through it and soon enough Harry is struggling to keep her eyes open. Louis continues to play with her hair until she drifts off to sleep.

#

The first thing Harry notices when she wakes up is that she’s moving. She’s completely disoriented and confused once she opens her eyes a crack and realizes she’s in a car. Her body feels… weird. Her back aches and she hasn’t opened her mouth yet to speak but her throat feels scratchy and sore. She does her best to unpack it all but it’s difficult considering she’s still doing her best to wake up. 

The closer she comes to consciousness the more she takes notice of the fact that there are multiple voices making conversation around her. She cracks her eyes open a smidge and comes to the halting realization that she is not currently in bed with Louis. It wouldn’t be so startling if she recognized where she was or who she was with but the small space between her eyelids allows her to realize that she’s currently in a vehicle full of men. 5 men to be exact. She’s absolutely fucking terrified and hopes that keeping her eyes shut will buy her some time to figure out an escape plan.  
She’s clearly been kidnapped. The voices continue the conversation and Harry listens intently. 

“Guys, there’s no way in hell anyone but me is drawing a dick on Hazza’s face.” Unidentified male voice number one states and what the fuck?!? Why do these strangers want to draw male genitalia on her face? 

“Lou, you being married and protective and shit is not going to prevent me from taking up this golden opportunity.” Unidentified male voice number two states. The sound of a marker being uncapped somewhere towards the back of the car resonates loudly in her ears.

“Niall I swear to god if you touch his face right now I will kill you.” Unidentified male voice number one retaliates. It nearly confuses Harry enough that she doesn’t recognize the pronoun usage. She does notice though and it makes her brain short-circuit temporarily. Harry is not only terrified she is beyond confused. 

“Li, can you scooch real quick?” Unidentified male voice number two whispers but Harry can hear it. 

The man who must be Liam sighs before shuffling around. Harry must be having some weird ass dream there is no way she is currently in a car with a bunch of men that go by the same names as all of her best friends. It’s simply not possible. 

“Niall James Horan! I will not hesitate to smack you if you get that sharpie anywhere near my husbands face. We have an interview in two hours and that shit takes ages to come off.” Harry’s definitely picked up on everyone’s names and can identify the voices by now but she’s too scared to acknowledge that this is real so they remain nameless in her brain. If Zayn is here she’ll probably scream. 

“Louis William Tomlinson! You literally love pranks; especially pranks on Harry what the fuck is up with you today?” Harry hears Louis take a big breath. It reminds her a lot of her Louis. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I just… Harry hasn’t been sleeping well since those new articles got printed and it just sucks so I’ve been a bit moody.” The whole car gets quiet for a second. Harry has this dire need to know what kind of articles and what kind of interviews these people partake in but she also has the need to live so she’ll refrain from any questions. 

“Yes! Tommo is back!” Niall screeches before slapping his hands over his own mouth. Harry assumes he didn’t want to wake… well didn’t want to wake her? She still hasn’t figured that out quite yet. 

“Hurry up and do it before I change my mind.” Louis huffs quietly. The car becomes strangely silent before the cold felt tip of a marker presses into Harry’s cheek. She can’t help it when her immediate reaction is to scream. She’s never been so terrified in her life.

“Please don’t kill me!” Harry shouts as her eyes dart open and finally takes in her surroundings properly. Not only does her voice sound different but what she sees is so mind-boggling that her lungs feel as if they may collapse. 

The music on the radio cuts out and everyone looks at her. Five sets of eyes stare confusedly at her shaky frame. Harry continues to struggle with evening her breath. Zayn is the first one to speak up. 

“H? Are you alright?” His voice barely reaches above a whisper.

“I… I… I…” Harry stutters when she notices the size of her hands, the unfamiliar tattoos, and the expensive watch that adorns her wrist. 

“Love, did you have a nightmare again?” Louis watches her sympathetically as he reaches out to touch her arm. Harry jerks away.

“Harry, should I call management? Do we need to cancel the interview?” The man driving the car states. Instead of responding, Harry reaches up, pulls down the visor, and flips open the mirror. Her features are all similar to how they were when she fell asleep. Green eyes, curly brown hair, two dimples that expand when she smiles, but she isn’t a she anymore. Light brown stubble coats her upper lip, her cheekbones tilt in a more deliberate manner, and her eyebrows are much thicker and less shaped. When the total revelation that she is now a boy with a considerable amount of money and the same friend's hits, it brings her into an instant fit of laughter. 

“Harry?” Liam whispers. All the boys appear to be absolutely terrified. 

“Oh my god, I must be dreaming. There’s no way this is real.” Her new laugh reverberates inside the vehicle. 

“What isn’t real babe? Are you alright? You’re making me worried.” Louis looks so incredibly sad and Harry feels a deep seeded desire to make him smile. Just like her Louis. 

“I… where am I exactly?” There’s a pause and Harry thinks she can hear the moment everyone stops breathing, just for a second. 

“Harry…” Niall’s hands shake profusely as they reach to cup her shoulder. Harry allows him to touch her.

“Niall…” She responds because she doesn’t want to scare these boys more than they already are but she’s scared too and she needs to get a better grasp of her surroundings before she can figure anything else out. 

“We’re in New York City on our way to an interview with Sugarscape magazine.” The driver pipes in. Everyone else seems to be too stunned to say anything else. 

“New York? And an interview? What is this interview for?” Harry’s mind is blown enough that the fact that she’s currently in New York City and not Manchester almost doesn’t phase her. Almost. 

“The same thing all our interviews are for, what do you mean H?” Zayn replies.

“Umm… Well… How do I… I mean…” Harry huffs out a single laugh. “I don’t even know how to explain it really, none of this makes any sense.” Louis shakes his head as if to wake himself up and rests his hand on top of Niall’s on her shoulder. 

“Can you please try baby? You’re really scaring all of us.” 

“I… last night I fell asleep on the couch in my apartment in Manchester with my girlfriend Louis and now I’m…” Harry rubs her temple and closes her eyes so she misses the way all five men in the car’s eyes bulge and nearly fall out of their heads. “I don’t know what happened… I’m… I’m a girl and I like girls and I live in Manchester and I definitely don’t have enough money to afford a Rolex.” She sniffles and rubs at her eyes. At some point during her explanation she started crying and now she has a feeling she won’t be stopping for quite some time. 

“Harry I think you must’ve bumped your head at some point and,” The driver starts to explain but Harry cuts him off.

“I know it sounds really fucking insane, how do you think I feel?” Harry’s voice raises as her crying rapidly becomes sobs. “I didn’t ask for this to happen. I don’t know what happened. All I know is that I’m scared and tired and confused and I want to go home.” 

Both Niall and Louis simultaneously raise their hands up off of her shoulder. Harry continues to make choked off noises as tears roll down her face. She does her best to squeeze herself into a little ball in the right corner of the seat without removing her seatbelt. A headache slowly begins to build in Harry’s left temple. If she makes it out of this situation alive it’ll be her greatest life accomplishment. 

“Boys… I think… I think we should let him… her? Have some space.” Zayn quietly mumbles from the far back of the car. Harry can’t see anything through the ball that she’s curled herself into but there’s a rough sort of tension that circulates through the air like the heater that is currently blasting through the vents of the car.

“Uh, Gio?” Niall asks timidly.

“Yes?” The driver, whose name is apparently Gio, responds. 

“Is there any way we can reschedule this interview?” 

“I’m already on my way back to the hotel, boys.” 

“Good.” Everyone in the car collectively sighs, including Harry. If she had to pretend to be this other Harry at some event for something she doesn’t even understand there’s no way these boys’ career would survive.

They ride back in silence

#

The boys huddle together as they work their way towards the elevator. Harry lags back far enough that she can’t clearly make out what they’re saying but close enough that she doesn’t get lost on her way to their hotel room. Once they come together inside the elevator Liam speaks up. 

“We’re going to have to talk back in the room, H.”

She expected as much but she’s positively not looking forward to it. She has absolutely no plan. What do you even say in a situation like this? Oh, hello strangers that resemble my friends. I’m Harry. Not that Harry though, another Harry. You’re confused? That makes two of us, pal. The chorus of the Drake song ‘I’m Upset’ resonates in her head until the elevator beeps and signals that they’ve reached their destination. Niall ruffles through his backpack trying to find the keycard while everyone else not-so-subtly stares at her. She has a feeling that it’s going to be a lovely afternoon, and by lovely she means she’d rather skydive without a parachute than stay and see where this conversation goes. Niall finally manages to pull a small white card out of the bag and they all file in behind him towards the living area. As soon as everyone is sitting down Harry, Liam, and Louis all speak at the same time.

“I-”

“So,”

“You-”

The overlapping of their words sends everyone into a fit of giggles. 

“You go first.” Liam nods his head towards Harry.

“I actually didn’t even know where I was going with that I just felt bad and wanted to fill the silence.” Harry’s body leans away from the rest of theirs subconsciously when she shyly rubs at her face. Luckily this Harry doesn’t really have any facial hair because that would have been a change of pace. 

“Well, I was just going to say-” Liam is quickly cut off by Louis’ brash and bubbly voice.

“Who says you get to go first, Payno?” His right eyebrow raises up and a smirk sits contentedly on his lips. 

“Who gave you the right to be a pain in the ass, Tommo?” Liam retorts teasingly. 

“Anywayyy, as I was saying… You do know that this whole situation is fucked right?” Harry has to take a moment's pause and remind herself to not get angry at the way Louis inserts himself into situations and lays all the cards on the table as if they are meant to be unfiltered photographs. Of course the situation is fucked, that goes without saying. She doesn’t think she can currently say anything polite so she keeps her mouth shut. Liam sighs. 

“Lou, if you’re not going to say anything useful why even speak at all?” Everyone’s spirits appear to reach an all-time low before Louis heaves out a breath and quietly sniffles. Suddenly, everyone aside from Harry huddles around Louis in a tight hug. They all begin to whisper soothing things and rub his back as his cries grow in volume and resonate in her ears. It may not be her Louis, but it’s still Louis, and she still feels an innate sense to want to protect him just like she does with her girlfriend. Clearly, this situation is overwhelming for all parties involved there’s no sense in adding to it. 

“Uh, Louis?” Harry feels like it’s not her place to physically comfort this Louis, but she can at least attempt to comfort him verbally. Slowly but surely he pokes his head out from the center of the group hug. 

“Yeah?” His voice is shaky and timid but at least he’s willing to respond. 

“I, um, I know that this situation isn’t ideal… obviously. I’m sure it’s really hard to believe and such so I was thinking maybe you guys could ask me questions that only your Harry should know the answer to?” The hug breaks apart and they all nod in agreement. No one speaks for a minute which makes Harry feel extremely awkward. 

“What did you do yesterday?” Niall questions after what feels like forever. 

“Lou and I were watching her siblings Ernest and Doris because her mom wanted to go on a school trip with Phoebe and Daisy and Dan had been working. We went to a little park and then got McDonald’s happy meals for the kids. We dropped them off at home after and then Lou and I went home, drank hot chocolate, and watched a rom-com.” Harry smiles. Even after their little spat, the overall joy of the day warms her soul. 

Zayn and Liam appear to be slightly starstruck, Niall seems oddly attentive, and Louis… Louis seems like somehow he’s managed to wrap his head around this whole situation. 

“What do you do for a living?” Niall continues on. 

“Oh! I own a small garden shop in Brighton near the coast!” 

“What’s the name of your shop?” Liam adds in. The level of curiosity grows with the number of questions asked. 

“A Bunch of Love, Flowers + More.” Harry smiles. If there’s one thing that she’s most proud of in the world aside from Louis it would be her beloved garden shop. When she first bought the property a couple of years ago she could have never imagined how it would take off and, no pun intended, blossom into what it is today. 

“That’s a very Harry thing to name a flower shop,” Zayn comments as a small smile grows on his face. 

“That’s what Lou told me when I first bought the place and gave her a list of ideas for names.” Harry laughs loudly. She can remember that day like it was yesterday. She’s pretty sure that Louis thought she had gone absolutely insane but she also supported her wholly and unconditionally. Louis’ like that.

“How did you meet Louis?” Niall seems to be the leader of this discussion and does a wonderful job of staying on task without being too pushy. 

“My Louis?” Harry asks. She assumes that’s what he means, but she wants to make sure. 

“I guess so, yeah.” He responds quickly. 

Harry can’t help the fondness that encompasses her when she thinks back to the day that she met her favorite person. Everything seemed so utterly embarrassing and terrible at the moment but thinking back she wouldn’t change anything about how they met. 

“It’s kind of a funny story. We actually were at this footie game back in uni and somehow ended up in the bathroom stalls next to each other during halftime. I was just minding my business when suddenly a hand reaches under my stall and I just-” Harry does her best to hold back her laughter. “I screamed so fucking loud and the place went dead silent. Like, the bathroom had been full of random people and no one said a thing until Louis mumbled ‘oops’. I was in so much shock and so caught up in the pretty sound of her voice that I just said ‘hi’ back. So, stupid honestly.” She cracks up again. She can’t help it, this story really is one of her favorites to tell. “Finally, everyone moves about their business once they realize there’s no actual danger but me and Lou just kinda stay frozen in our stalls? Like, what does one even do in a situation like that, right?” The boys seem to follow along with the story so she moves on.

“So, instead of moving her hand away like a normal person she just reaches farther in and says-” The interruption of her laughter most likely throws off the flow of the story, but she can’t help it. “She says ‘I just really need some fucking toilet paper, I’m sorry.’ I just about died from embarrassment at that very moment, but somehow I managed to rip off some and hand it to her. Finally, I leave the stall to wash my hands thinking I’m in the clear, right? But, no. Out comes the most beautiful human being I’ve ever laid my eyes on and she comes strolling up to me as if she’s on a mission. Proper serious and everything.” Harry takes a breath in an attempt to collect herself but is soon interrupted by Zayn. 

“What did she do?” 

“She said and I quote ‘you were the one in the stall next to me, yeah?’ and my face goes from pale white to beet red in a millisecond. I was in no shape or form prepared to be called out and I actually wanted to die. I couldn’t find it in me to speak so I just nodded then she said ‘I know I probably should have warned you before sticking my hand into your stall, but in my defense, I’m wearing white shorts and my period just decided to arrive three days early. I was out of options.’” This added information makes Zayn squirm but the other three nod along sympathetically. Someone must have managed to acquaint them with female anatomy at some point. “Of course, this added information only makes me feel worse for bringing attention to the issue in the first place so I said the only thing I could think of. ‘Do you still need a tampon?’ She blushed so hard and we both felt so horribly awkward it was awful. But after the whole bathroom fiasco, we walked out together and just never went back to the game. We went out to a little bar near campus, had some drinks, talked for hours. We were best friends for a year before we decided to pull our heads out of our asses and ask each other out, but that’s a whole other story.” 

“How long have you been together?” Louis pipes in. He’s been quiet throughout the discussion but his tone now offers a level of calm and warmth… just like her Louis. 

“4 years two months and seven days, but Louis hates when I’m super specific like that.” 

“My Harry is super specific like that also.” He grins wildly. 

They continue talking about Harry’s life back home and slowly piece in parts of their own lives. Harry learns all about their band, where they’re from, and how they met. She learns about their trips, their love for music, the trials and tribulations they’ve gone through to get to where they are now. How passionate and determined they all are to not only succeed but to thrive. Before she knows it early morning fades into afternoon and it feels as if they’ve all been friends forever. They have in a way she supposes. Maybe ending up here isn’t so bad after all.

#

She quickly changes her mind when they boys inform her that there are other interviews they are not allowed to miss going on this evening. 

“Harry, we don’t have a choice. We shouldn’t have even skipped the one this morning but clearly understanding this-” Liam gestures in a circular motion towards her. “situation was slightly more pressing.” 

“I don’t even know anything about your lives!” She protests. That’s not explicitly true… not really true at all but she definitely isn’t ready to be in a position to answer questions for this Harry. 

“We literally just spent the last few hours telling you all about ourselves,” Niall adds in. 

“Yeah, but… I’m not with Louis.” Harry mutters anxiously. She doesn’t think she’d be able to kiss him or explain little lovey stories about them without exposing herself. She’s so caught up in her own head that she doesn’t notice the way the room goes quiet around her. Suddenly, everyone doesn’t appear to be quite so happy. 

“We… I… Uh, Harry…” Zayn stutters out a semblance of an explanation as if Harry’s supposed to just get it. 

“We don’t get to do that,” Louis whispers sadly. 

“Do what?” Harry questions before the weight of the issue sinks in. They don’t get to do that as in they don’t get to be together. Harry and Louis in this universe are a secret. Their relationship is made out as something to be ashamed of rather than proud. In the light of the public, Harry and Louis are two entirely separate entities. One does not mix with the other. 

“I guess we just didn’t think to explain because we’re just used to it… um-” Niall sighs sadly. The group as a whole sends off waves of heartbreak into Harry’s chest. 

“I- I’m so so sorry.” Harry ducks her head and refuses to make eye contact with anyone else. She feels stupid and ungrateful. At home, Harry is used to being out to the world both individually and within her relationship. She gets to be herself all the time and she never has to worry about accidentally giving away too much information. Sure, there are always people who aren’t accepting towards her but that doesn’t prevent her from doing what she wants and loving who she loves. She’s never even had to think about that kind of thing. Louis was out long before she ever met her so she never had to be quiet or worry about misstepping. She never realized what a privilege it is to love out loud. Everything she does with Louis has the opportunity to be capital letters and exclamation points shouted through loudspeakers. She’s allowed to be jealous, and happy. Full of love and full of pride. She’s allowed to get angry and make mistakes. Give each other space and get so close they no longer feel like two bodies. Harry doesn’t have to hold back any of her emotions. Her Louis loves to see them all so she lets them spill out and make a mess and she’s never bothered to clean them up. She starts to cry; can’t help but exhale the pressure that burns in her chest. She continues to splatter the room with her feelings just like she always does. Because she can. 

“Harry, please don’t do that.” Louis pleads softly. He looks as if he’s on the verge of tears just seeing her be like this. Seeing her cry. It’s then that she realizes that they don’t see her. They see their Harry, their best friend, Louis’ husband. They sit and watch one of their favorite people cry like they clearly have many times before and they feel helpless. Her and this Harry seem to have a lot in common that way. She wipes furiously at her face in a poor attempt to gather herself together before she speaks. 

“Please don’t-” She takes a breath. “please don’t be upset I’m… I’m not your Harry, remember? I’m not your best friend-” She gestures towards Liam, Niall, and Zayn. “or your husband.” She tilts her head and stares into Louis’ eyes. “I don’t have to deal with what you boys do. I’m just sad you have to.” Louis’ face fills with tears as soon as she’s done speaking and Niall, Zayn, and Liam huddle around him just like the first time when the sun had barely risen and they all felt lost. It sort of feels like that again. They’re caught somewhere between strangers and best friends. Dancing on a tightrope and hoping they don’t turn the wrong way and tip off the edge. 

Minutes pass in silence and right before Harry is about to pull this Harry’s phone out of her pocket just to do something the four men turn towards her and softly smile. They’re still upset, but it’s not at her. 

“Thank you.” Louis states. Harry waits a moment to see if he’s going to explain what he’s thankful for. When he doesn’t Harry asks. 

“What for?”

“For being here. For showing me that things might not always be so hard. For proving that love is worth it.” 

“I did all of that?” Harry’s eyes bug out of her head in surprise. She was sure that she had done nothing but cause distress all day. 

“Hearing you talk about your life with your Louis it…” Louis chokes up a little.

“It gives us hope.” Liam completes his sentence for him. 

“You give us hope.” Niall twists his head from Harry to Louis and gives him a blindingly bright smile.

“So, thank you.” Zayn finishes. Harry wonders momentarily if they do that a lot. Finish each other's sentences. It’s only a second until she realizes that she should probably respond. 

“You’re welcome.”

# 

“Okay, so missing the interview this morning started a lot of rumors.” Liam does his best to explain everything before they head into the room that they’ll be interviewed in. 

“What kind of rumors?” 

“Rumors about you and Louis. Mainly little things like how some fans think Louis seemed a bit sick at our concert yesterday and how he probably got you sick because… you know.” Liam chuckles and all the boys join.

“Your fans know???” Harry chokes out. That would have been nice to know ahead of time.

“Oh, god no. Not actually anyway. They’re just really clever and Louis and Harry aren’t all that good at hiding it.” Niall’s laughter grows louder after he finishes speaking. 

“They get so lovey-dovey doing just basic things.” Zayn rolls his eyes then smiles.

“Like what?” Harry questions curiously. 

“Eating breakfast? Romantic. Getting on an airplane? Romantic. Riding back from a concert? Romantic. Literally, anything can be an excuse for them to get all mushy and up in each others space.” Niall smacks his forehead with his palm and shakes his head. There’s a hint of fondness that grows at the corners of his lips, though, Harry can see it. Harry directs her attention to a blushing Louis before commenting. 

“Oh my god, I’m the same way. Our friends literally hate us sometimes.” That makes Louis perk up.

“Right? These guys get so annoyed but I’m pretty sure they secretly love it.” Louis smirks.

“They’re probably just jealous.”Harry laughs and then freezes. Jealousy. Harry had been so ridiculous yesterday with that McDonald's employee. Even though she apologized, she hadn’t really understood what she was apologizing for. She just knew that was what Louis wanted and she didn’t want her to be upset with her. That wasn’t the point though, and she should have tried better to see things from Louis’ perspective. She shouldn’t have overreacted over something so minimal. 

“Harry, are you okay?” Niall shakes her shoulder. She must have zoned out. 

“Yeah, sorry.” 

“We gotta go in now, you good?” Louis asks. 

“Yes, I’m ready.”

#

The interview has moved into a portion on their love lives. Harry sees it as an invasion of privacy and entirely over the top but the rest of them seem used to it. As long as she doesn’t say anything stupid all will be okay. The boys told her she should keep quiet for the majority of the interview unless something is specifically directed at her. In that case, she was told to keep her answers vague, short, and sweet. Harry’s pretty sure she can handle this. 

“How many of you are currently single?” asked the woman interviewing them. 

“I believe I’m the only single one at the moment.” Niall smiles. He had prepped Harry by telling her that this Harry has a PR girlfriend at the moment and so does Louis. Absolute bullshit in her opinion, but it is what it is. 

“I also saw that you boys had to skip out on a different obligation this morning. I heard that one of you may be sick are you all alright?” Harry can’t help but laugh. She does her best to cover it with a cough but Liam still glares at her. 

“Harry, are you a bit under the weather? I thought I read that Louis wasn’t feeling good somewhere but I must have read wrong, yeah?” Harry coughs again. She has yet to speak but there’s really no way around it now, great. 

“Uh, yeah just a bit of a…” Louis starts gesturing towards his head. “A headache.” 

“Aww well I hope you feel better soon, you’re far too pretty to feel poorly.” Harry would rather do anything else than sit here. This woman is so fake it’s starting to put her to sleep. The questions drone on and she doesn’t feel especially needed so she decides to rest her head on Niall’s shoulder. Niall smiles down at her like he gets it. It’s been a long day. 

Without thinking about it her eyes drift shut and she falls asleep on his shoulder.

#

“Baby, you gotta get up if you want to make it to pilates on time.” Louis gently shakes her shoulder. Harry is just conscious enough that a faint smile crosses her lips. She’s so warm and cozy. When did that happen? Also, when did Louis’ voice start to sound like her Louis’? She must still be really out of it. 

“Haz, I know how much you love this class and it’s only once a week you have to wake up.” Harry blinks multiple times before her vision focuses and she takes in her surroundings. She gasps before reaching out and pulling Louis into her. Louis stumbles over the edge of the couch and collapses onto Harry’s body. 

“Louis?” Harry’s voice is laced with mirth and her eyes glass over with unshed tears. 

“Harry? You think you could let me go maybe?” Louis giggles and does her best to wiggle out of Harry’s bear hug. 

“Louis, I missed you so much I thought I might never see you again.” Harry sniffles into her shoulder. 

“Harry, what the hell are you talking about I literally saw you like six hours ago.” She finally manages to dislodge herself from Harry’s arms. When she looks into Harry’s eyes she notices the tear tracks that cover her cheeks. 

“Hun, did you have a bad dream?” Louis ponders as she scoots Harry’s legs to the edge of the couch and sits beside her. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Harry wipes at her eyes as she searches Louis’ face for any sort of recognition of what happened in the past twenty-four hours. She’s met with nothing. Her brain does it’s best to catch up with her current situation but she’s baffled and it takes a couple of minutes for her to become cohesive again. 

“I… It felt so real.” She mutters under her breath. 

“What felt real, H?” Louis looks concerned. 

“I woke up and I was in a car in New York City.” 

“In your dream?” Louis asks.

“I-I don’t know it felt real, Louis. I swear it was real.” Harry can see that Louis isn’t really getting what she’s saying. That it doesn’t make any sense to her. Just like that, Harry understands. She knows she learned what she was supposed to. 

“Why don’t I make us some tea and we can talk about it. Will that make you feel better?” Louis prompts her gently before she rises from her spot and glances at her for reassurance. 

“Yeah, yeah that would be great,” Harry responds. 

They spend the whole morning sipping tea, snacking on apple slices and dry cereal, and talking through Harry’s dream. They hold each other tight as they pick each other’s brains and Harry is happy. So, so happy. She’s grateful that she gets to do this. Thankful that she’s never had to think about doing anything else. Content with how her life has turned out so far. She nuzzles her nose into Louis’ neck which makes her laugh but she doesn’t draw away. If anything she only pulls Harry closer and that’s how Harry knows that she is right where she belongs.


End file.
